Falafel Wraps

This was a bit of an emergeny last minute meal. I realized at the eleventh hour that I hadn't planned enough food for dinner and frantically flipped through the cookbook to look for something else that we could make to complement the too-sparse meal. This was what we came up with. It was tasty, but I had to make a few changes to the recipe to get it done in time. Technically you're supposed to use soaked but uncooked chickpeas. I didn't have time for that, so I just used cooked ones. This resulted in a much softer, wetter mix than soaked chickpeas would've given. Adding some flour helped hold it together and the wraps were still quite tasty, but I think they would've been even better had I had time to follow the recipe properly.

Falafel Wrap

Slightly adapted from Our Syria by Itab Azzam and Dina Mousawi

Ingredients

Falafels

• 250g dried chickpeas
• 1.5L hot water
• 1 onion, quartered
• 2-3 cloves garlic
• 1 bunch fresh parsley, chopped
• 1 bunch fresh cilantro, chopped
• 1 tsp. coarse sea salt
• 1/2 tsp. baking soda
• 1/2 Tbsp. dhania-jeera masala
• oil, for frying

Wrap

• flatbreads (such as sourdough pitas)
• chopped tomatoes
• pickled turnips
• pickled cucumbers (or dill pickles)
• tahini sauce
• fresh mint and/or fresh parsley

Directions

Falafels

1. Pour hot water over chickpeas and set aside to soak for 24 hours.
2. Blend onion in food processor. (I used the "food chop" setting on my blender.)
3. Add chickpeas, garlic, parsley, and cilantro and process/blend until very finely chopped.
4. Transfer to a bowl.
5. Add the salt, baking soda, and dhania-jeera masala and mix well.
6. Shape the mixture into small balls. If the mixture is too loose or wet, add a little all-purpose flour to help bring it together.
7. Heat up about 5cm (2") of oil in a pan or wok.
8. Once the oil is very hot, begin cooking the falafels, a few at a time.
9. Cook until very dark and crispy on the outside. The inside should still be soft and green (5-10 minutes).
10. Remove cooked falafels from oil and allow to drain.

Wrap

1. Squash a few falafel balls onto a flatbread.
2. Add chopped tomatoes and pickles.
3. Drizzle with tahini sauce and sprinkle with mint and/or parsley.
4. Roll into a wrap and enjoy!